AKC dog registry welcoming coonhounds to purebred world

Wilmington Star News ^ | 7/10/06 | Coke Ellington

[girlangler]

A friend of mine (on the N.C./Tennessee border) raises Plotts, from the original George Plott line. These are some fine hounds, and she sells/ships them worldwide.

I know others that swear by black and tans, and a Walker enthusiast cannot be swayed.

My friends hunt both bear and 'coons with their hounds.

I have a great photo of some hounds running halfway up a tree after a coon in a field trial. If someone can tell me how I'll post these.

[Carl LaFong]

My brother had a black and tan coonhound--goofiest,dumbest dog ever..but lovable nontheless.Definitely have 'rabbit in his blood'-always getting loose and roaming.

[oyez]

TREEING WALKER HOUND

When I was growing up in the rural south their were only four groups of registered dogs; pointers, setters, beagles and coon-hounds. At the time coon-hounds were only recognized by the National Coon-hound association. About ten years ago the AKC picked up on the black and tan.

[Lloyd227]

Ah!!! UKC.... makes all the difference in the world. Are they still around I wonder?

[Beagle8U]

I wouldn't own an AKC working dog.

A good UKC coonhound would be worth double that of AKC.

Even in the 70's when fur was high few would even waste money taking a AKC hound on trial.

That goes double for Beagles, give me UKC or Kerr any day.

[oyez]

I could use a coon hound about now.

When I was young we had to drive over to Big Black Bottom the coon hunt and now I live in Memphis and I could hunt in my own neighbor hood.

[AnAmericanMother]

UKC is very much with us.

I run my dog in UKC Hunt Tests rather than AKC field trials. (AKC is now running Hunt Tests, and I'll probably take her over to get her JH and maybe SH, just for fun.)

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, it's a chicken-and-egg kind of thing.

The breeders breed what the judges pin. When the breeders focus exclusively on what the judges pin, they lose other important characteristics (especially working ability).

I used to breed Siamese cats, and we saw it there too. When the judges started rewarding the extreme, long headed, very fragile body type, the big breeders bred exclusively for that, to heck with temperament, health, etc.

That's why a couple of breakaway organizations are now breeding the "apple head" Siamese. My cats were never apple heads, but they weren't the extreme elongated type either. I took my best boy to Champion, but he would never have gotten any further than that, no matter how often I showed him. And the person who is in it seriously (I was just a hobby breeder) is going to breed what the judges like as quickly as they can.

[Darnright]

>We love our hounds.<

AKC loves the money associated with Coon Hounds. They are horning in unceremoniously on the action.

They've recognised the Black and Tan Coonhound for decades.

[Varda]

I kinda remember this. You have to recall the AKC is an organization of mostly breed clubs, the primary function of which is keeping stud books. The only coonhound whose club was a member was the Black and Tan (maybe there are others now). Being a club registry it keeps in touch with other registries and sometimes has agreements with them.

If I remember correctly, other coonhound breeds were keeping their own stud books until some point when they decided to petition the AKC to do it for them. They were still separate with separate organization and events. It was a service arrangement. That's how it was for many years I guess until now. If these other coonhound breeds will have access to AKC events because the breeds are AKC registered then it means there are breed clubs petitioning for admission.

[brytlea]

I think you and I have had this discussion before. I'm going to leave it here, because, I like you, and we probably both have points (and I don't mean elongated heads). ;)
susie

[Condor51]

"Coon hound"?!? I don't think so.

Jesse Jagmo will go apoplectic over that name. It gives the mental image of a dog that is bread to chase down / hunt ... well.. 'coons'. And as we know the word 'coon' will undoubtedly cause someone, somewhere to be offended. And we can't have that, now can we.

[Texas Mulerider]

Full Cry !

Indeed, sir!

This is the kind of discussion that makes me proud to be a FReeper! The DU-type sites wouldn't know a bluetick from a wood tick...

[girlangler]

Ha, I was going to ping you on this thread but had the wrong name, had typed it in as Beagle8.

[hmcgroyne]

Yay! I wish I could register my bluetick, but she was a rescue so there's no way to prove her pureblood-edness....

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Sad, sad, sad news for the breed. They've ruined many a breed by selecting for appearance over ability.

A number of GREAT breeds have escaped this destruction (which is the antithesis of how working breeds were created)- for example (and say this quietly) the American Bulldog. May it be overlooked for decades yet.

ampu

[T-Bird45]

Anybody know the old joke (and I mean old) about some city guy who goes racoon hunting with a monkey and challenges the locals to match their coonhounds to his monkey, as far as racoon hunting skill.

The story as I heard it was by Jerry Clower and could probably be found on one of his old recordings. It involved giving the monkey a revolver and a flashlight, allowing it to climb the tree, find the coon, and shoot it.

It seems that the dogs indicated they had a coon up a tree, the monkey was sent up with light and revolver, looked all over for the coon, and upon not finding the coon, descended the tree and shot the "lying coon hound."

[Beagle8U]

I have a bluetick/beagle cross that is a coon huntin machine.

She is silent on track but works close and is on the coon before they go far. Once treed she will chop all night.

She will only run rabbits if deep snow keeps every coon holed up in winter.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Are we talking just about Black & Tan Coonhounds, which the AKC has registered for ages (as mentioned)?

Or talking ANY coonhound, or some other non-B&T like Bluetick, or etc?

I'm confused.

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, I'm not a conformation dog person -- so I've never been to a conformation show. So I'll defer to your superior knowledge!

(My little skinny undersized and long-nosed Lab couldn't get anywhere in conformation in any event . . . I mean, just look at her!)